Death Becomes Thee
by Kat A. Klysmic
Summary: Thousands of years spent alone in darkness drive Lucy, Goddess of the Underworld, to her breaking point. When Mavis, Queen of the Gods, offers her a chance to have that which she longs for most, she takes it.
1. Chapter One

**AN:** So this is actually a companion piece to a piece of art that I did as a request over on my tumblr (joliemariella) for a NaLu take on the myth of Hades and Persephone! To find it you can just search 'death becomes thee' on my blog and check it out :)

This is most likely just going to be a one shot...but I might come back to it later and finish it out. Dunno, what do you guys think? Leave a comment at let me know!

 **Edit 4/15/17:** So I wound up writing more of this after all, so I went ahead and touched up a few little things in this chapter too. Nothing major, no need to reread or anything if you remember what all happened.

* * *

 **Death Becomes Thee**

Chapter One

Lucy, Goddess of the Underworld, smiled faintly down into the pool of water at her feet. It was approximately six feet across, perfectly circular, and located in the center of the gray, dismal gardens that surrounded her castle.

Once, she had thought having a castle to fill all that darkness would make her feel better; ease her melancholy in some small way. For a time, it had, and decades passed in a steady march as the goddess built her home, stone by stone with her own pale, strong hands. From the foundation she laid sprung grand halls, fairy tale towers, and a vast library full of every book ever written, or that ever _would_ be written.

When she finished, the Goddess of Death looked on her work and thought that it was good.

Eventually, though, like every attempt she made to 'liven' up the world of the dead, all those empty, echoing chambers only served to remind Lucy of how very lonely she was. It didn't matter what she filled the rooms with or how many intricate gardens she planted, because, in the end, the goddess was alone.

The fact that there were more people occupying her realm under the earth than there were stars in the sky was an irony that haunted her daily. Every person who had ever lived wound up down in the dark with Lucy, but not a single one was able to see her. Her very presence in the Underworld kept it running smoothly; the living died on schedule, and the dead stayed dead. If she strayed from her realm, the entire process ground to a halt and upset the delicate balance that kept life running for everyone else.

Despite her frustrations with her dull, depressing existence, Lucy couldn't quite bring herself to leave, not when so many innocent mortals would pay the price for her freedom. An eternity of mortal agony awaited those who were meant to die but did not. Without the Underworld running, the deathly wounded remained so indefinitely, and with the balance of life undone, humanity's fragile bodies would be unable to heal even the smallest injury.

Though she was bitter about the lot with which she had been stuck after the great war against the titans, she was not a cruel goddess. She would not take her anger out on her fragile charges.

So she wandered the darkness alone, studying those human souls who came into her care, sending some to Tartaros to be punished for crimes committed in life, while others she sent to the fields of Elysium to experience eternal happiness as reward for a life well lived.

She did not dare venture into the fields herself, however. Not anymore.

When the world was younger, and the Underworld was still new, she had rarely left them. Here was beauty and light to rival Mount Olympus, and she had craved it like a drug.

Gradually, though, the pain of watching the souls that inhabited that place enjoy it, and each other, had become too much for Lucy. What good was something so beautiful if she had no one to share it with? No one to talk to, to share her troubles with, to listen to... No one at all.

One day (Or night, perhaps. One could never tell in that place), Lisanna, Goddess of the Moon had taken pity on Lucy and given her a gift to ease the pain of her existence: a perfectly round pool of water, crystal clear and mirror bright, appearing like a small moon itself where it rested in the gardens of the Underworld. Through it, Lucy was able to gaze upon the surface world to pass the lonely hours. It wasn't the same as having someone to share her life with, but watching living mortals was easier than those in the Elysium fields. At least everything was not perfect bliss on Earth. The imperfections of the world gave it infinite variety, and held the goddess' attention better than anything else.

It was during these long hours of watching the mortal realm that Lucy first saw him.

Natsu, he was called by his friends and family. Son of Makarov, God of the Harvest, he was more full of life than anyone she had ever seen. The vibrancy of his soul was what initially drew the goddess' attention, but it was his unaffected kindness in dealing with others, loyalty to his friends, and unbridled love of life that kept her coming back for more.

Day after day she would return, though at first she feigned disinterest, even to herself. She tried to convince herself that it was chance that made the pool focus where he was, rather than her undefinable need to see him, if only for a few seconds.

Seconds turned into minutes, though, and minutes into hours, until he was all that could keep her attention for any length of time. She no longer wandered through her realm, or haunted the echoing hallways of her castle. Her gardens went untended as Lucy watched Natsu and came to love his vibrant smile. His laugh was like music to her ears, and his rare moments of solemnity treasured memories.

Even now she watched as he ran along the beach, racing a few of his friends while others cheered them on from nearby.

It looked like fun.

"You're obsessed, you know."

Lucy jumped in shock as a voice other than her own rang across the gardens. Her vast, dark wings flared as the goddess turned and glared at her guest over one armored shoulder.

"What do you want, Mavis?" she asked flatly as the Queen of the Gods approached, a smile on her face.

"I've come to check on you, Lucy. I haven't seen you in eons. I was worried about you." She glanced back at the pool, which still focused on Natsu, who had apparently won his race and seemed to be bragging. "I think I was right to be."

Lucy's shoulders stiffened, and she waved a hand, banishing the image from the pool. It rippled for a moment, then fell still, reflecting the two godesses as they stood at its edge.

"Yes, well, not all of us are free to come and go as they please," she replied, dark eyes narrowing as she watched her sister goddess.

Mavis just smiled at her and waved a hand over the pool, mimicking the gesture her host had performed a moment before, though in reverse. Natsu's familiar face returned, the suddenness of it making Lucy's heart ache.

"You know, all this watching doesn't really accomplish anything," Mavis commented eventually, and Lucy was forced to tear her eyes from the pool to look at the Thunder Goddess.

"What?" she asked, unsure of what she insinuating, though quite sure she was doing just that.

"If you like him so much, you should just go _get_ him," Mavis pointed out with a smile.

"You're mad," Lucy said with a frown, though her heart pounded in her breast at the very thought. To have Natsu here _with_ her...to actually speak to him, see his wonderful smile in person, touch his sun-kissed skin...

A shiver of longing rippled through Lucy, shaking the goddess to her very core.

"No, look, it would be _easy,_ " Mavis said. "You wouldn't be gone but a few minutes."

The two goddesses locked eyes, and in that moment, thousands of years spent alone in the shadows pressed in on Lucy from all sides. They made the darkness heavy with the weight of all that loneliness.

A second of weakness was all it took.

"What do I...what do I have to do?"

Mavis smiled.


	2. Chapter Two

**AN:** Surprise update, boom! Yeah, so I might have written this and chapter three back in September of 2016 and then kinda...forgot. Someone reblogged one of the pics I did for this fic and I remembered out of the blue so...here you go 8'D

* * *

 **Death Becomes Thee**

Chapter Two

"Isn't this kidnapping?"

Beneath the mask of her helmet, Lucy frowned and hissed, "Hush."

"This is definitely kidnapping."

"Happy, if you don't shut your mouth, I swear to you, I _will_ put you back in that miserable bridle Mavis had you in, bit and all."

The pale blue horse beneath Lucy shifted uncomfortably, then huffed and tossed its white mane. He muttered something to himself under his breath, but the goddess ignored him. She wished that she could forgo riding the creature all together, but as Goddess of the Underworld, Lucy's wings had never worked well in the light of day, and she would need speed to carry off Mavis' grand plan.

Not for the first time, she wondered if she should reconsider, forgo this mad idea of _kidnapping_ (the fact that Happy was being annoying didn't make him wrong) and return to her realm while she still could. However, certain knowledge of the quiet loneliness that waited for her there, an eternity of misery yet to unfold, kept Lucy in her hiding place.

For thousands of years she had been alone in the dark...perhaps that had driven her a little mad. No, it most certainly had if she was planning on kidnapping one of Makarov's favored sons...

The cry of an eagle, sharp and close, dragged Lucy from her reverie. It was quickly followed by an achingly familiar laugh and the pounding of sandaled feet on hard earth. The goddess' heart skipped a beat at the sound; it was even more beautiful in person.

From her hiding place among the shadows at the edge of a forest clearing, Lucy watched as an eagle dove from the painfully bright, blue sky above, and trailed its broad wings along the tips of the tall, gently waving grass that grew below. Across the way, a man burst through the underbrush and into open, laughing as he moved in powerful leaps and bounds over the uneven ground.

In the distance, voices cried after him, calling for him to slow and wait for them to catch up.

"Hurry up, I've almost got it now!" Natsu shouted, grinning broadly as he raced after the eagle, the grandest one he'd ever laid eyes on. He didn't have any particular plan for when he managed to lay hands on the creature, but it'd certainly be a tale to tell tomorrow.

Lucy watched her prey with hungry eyes, riveted by his every movement. Muscle rippled beneath sun-kissed skin, a sharp contrast to his shock of rose colored hair. The life and energy that poured out from him with each step he took towards her left the goddess entranced.

The flash of sunlight on dappled feathers as the eagle banked up into the sky again brought Lucy back to the present and their purpose there that day.

"Now!" she told Happy.

"But-" the horse began to object uneasily.

"I said now!" the goddess commanded, power in her voice as her heart's desire faltered in his headlong dash to watch the eagle soar high and away, a look of disappointment on his face.

Unable to deny a direct order, the horse sprang forward into a ground eating gallop that quickly closed the distance between them and Natsu. The lesser god looked around in surprise at their sudden appearance. His expression quickly twisted into alarm as the picture they painted fully pressed itself upon his mind. The rider bearing down on him was clad all in black and gray armor with a sword at its hip, vast black wings trailing behind, a terrifying spectre to behold for even the most stalwart soul.

By the time he turned to run, though, the horse was on him. Its rider bent down in the saddle and scooped him up in one arm as they passed, making Natsu yelp in surprise.

"Back the way we came!" a feminine voice commanded the horse from behind the mask of the rider's horned helm as the man struggled violently against his captor.

"Get off of me!" Natsu shouted as the horse wheeled about and charged back into the depths of the forest, branches whipping at his back and legs as they passed. The lesser god raised a fist to strike his kidnapper, but she stopped the blow with one hand, and dragged him in close so he was draped across her lap.

"Hush now, I mean you no harm," the woman said as she clamped one arm across his struggling form.

"Bullshit!" Natsu bit out as he struggled. "You think you can just-"

"I'm sorry, but I really have to pay attention to this next part," his kidnapper said, tone apologetic as she reached up with her free hand and pushed the mask of her helmet back. Natsu was so startled by the pale beauty of the face beneath the terrible black armor that he briefly stopped struggling, allowing her a chance to lean in and press a kiss to his lips.

The man gave a start at the contact, and though he wanted to struggle against her, an inexplicable exhaustion swept over him. He was unconscious before their lips parted, though the kiss had lasted only a moment.

Lucy broke contact almost hesitantly. The warmth of Natsu's lips against hers was more than she had felt in centuries. It was like the first light of dawn after the long night. Still, as much as she longed for more, she knew it would be wrong to try again now that her intention of putting the man in her arms to sleep had been accomplished.

"What did you do to him?" Happy asked worriedly as he galloped on, dodging around trees and leaping over rocks, attention too fixed on keeping his feet to glance back at his rider and their 'guest'.

A small, wry smile pulled at the goddess' lips, and she said, "The kiss of death."

The horse gave a startled whinny and skidded to a halt, prancing anxiously in place. "You what?!" he demanded, voice panicked as he tossed his head and threatened to buck.

"It was a joke, a joke!" Lucy insisted as she clung to her mount's back with only her knees, her arms wrapped tight around Natsu's limp form. "A kiss from me cannot kill a god, even a lesser one!" the goddess explained hurriedly, deciding to neglect the fact that a kiss from her _could_ kill a mortal. "It only put him into a deep slumber, I swear it. You know I would not harm him for all the world, Happy!"

Happy's ears flicked back, then forward again as he glanced over his shoulder, eyes rolling to catch a glimpse of the man on his back. When he realized his rider spoke true the horse calmed somewhat and flicked his tail.

"Alright then," he said. "But jokes like that aren't funny, I hope you know!"

"Consider me chastened," Lucy said, glancing back the way they had come. The shouts for Natsu to slow down had turned to cries of distress as his companions realized something was amiss. "They'll catch us soon, Happy, we'll have to fly to make it now."

Her mount made an unhappy noise, and Lucy got the distinct feeling that he did not care if they were caught in the least. He could not disobey a great goddess, though, so he did as she bid.

Happy started running again, but when they reached a clearing, he gathered his haunches beneath him and took a mighty leap skyward. Suddenly, the air around them was filled by massive, white wings that grabbed at the air with a clap, and bore them up on the wind that filled them.

On his back, Lucy clung tight to the saddle-horn with one hand, and to the man in her lap with the other. Her own wings, useless by the light of day as they were, she tucked tight along her back so they would not interfere with Happy's own. The eagle, Mavis in one of her favored forms, flew past, dipping a wing in greeting as she did. Lucy nodded in turn, still torn by her Queen's hand in all of this. The Goddess of Thunder had never been one to explain her motives when it did not suite her needs, though, so Lucy set the concern aside for the time being. She had no doubt there would be some price for Mavis' help in the future, but there was little she could do about that in the present.

When the eagle had gone, Lucy glanced to the ground and found she could see a group of naiads and dryads racing through the trees below, searching for their missing companion. The goddess felt a guilty twinge for the pain she knew she had caused them, but one glance at the man in her arms and she forgot it.

Even in slumber he was the most incredible creature she had ever laid eyes on. She did not think she had ever truly appreciated the color of his hair, the arch of his nose, or the line of his jaw until that moment.

He was hers. She had stolen the earth's greatest treasure from those who couldn't truly appreciate him, and now she would bring him into her realm where he would shine all the brighter for the darkness.

Happy's broad wings carried them rapidly away northward towards the mountains where the hidden gate to her kingdom lay. They circled once as the horse prepared himself, then broke into a sharp dive into the shadows that lingered in a cleft at the cliff base. He tucked his wings at the last moment, and carried them through into the darkness beyond.  
Stairs, seeming supported by nothing, wound down through the void for what seemed an eternity. Lucy waved a hand, though, and suddenly a pale light faded into being. Happy flew towards it, then back-winged sharply before landing with a clatter of hooves outside a narrow stone gate through which one could not see. The horse gave a wary snort, but Lucy guided him through with a gentle tap of her heels, spurring him to pass through to the other side.


	3. Chapter Three

**AN:** Well, this is the last of my stashed chapters for this fic, lol, but I've been rolling the idea round in the ol' brain pan again...Is anyone even interested in this story anymore? X'D If so, leave a review and let me know and I'll (probably) write more!

* * *

 **Death Becomes Thee**

Chapter Three

The sound of water rushing past reached them first, but a moment later, sight returned and they found themselves on a pier that stretched from the rocky shore behind them and out over impossibly dark water. A boat approached through the mist that shrouded the river Styx, and Lucy relaxed a little.

"Right on time," she mused aloud as Happy crossed the echoing planks of petrified wood that made up the dock.

"I don't like boats," the horse said, eyeing the approaching vessel warily.

The craft was long with low sides, and broad across the bottom like a barge. A silver bell tolled faintly from where it hung at the bow, and suddenly they weren't alone on the dock.

Happy reared back onto his hind legs at the abrupt appearance of so many people all at once, hooves thrashing the air to keep his balance. Lucy fought to do the same while keeping a hold on her captive when he slipped dangerously low in her arms. She spread her black wings with a clap to steady the both of them, then gave the horse's mane a sharp yank.

"Calm down! They're only dead!"

A shriek of a whinny escaped her mount as Happy demanded, "Is that supposed to make me feel better?!"

"They won't harm you, I swear it," Lucy told him. "Look, they can't even see us!"

The horse's eyes rolled this way and that as he looked at the crowd of pale, ghostly figures that surrounded them on all sides. They crowded so close together that their insubstantial forms overlapped and blurred with their neighbors, as well as those of the goddess and her companions. This fact set Happy's hide to twitching, but he dropped back onto all fours anyways.

The souls around them seemed to encompass people of all ages and from all walks of life. Noblemen stood side-by-side with beggar children, the memory of fine robes overlapping with faded, tattered rags until they appeared one and the same.

"Why can't they see us? What are they doing?" Happy asked, ears twitching this way and that as the boat neared the dock, slowing and turning against the current to bring it alongside.

Lucy resettled Natsu across her lap, tugging his long limbs in to make him more manageable. She wished she hadn't worn the gloves with her gauntlets so she might feel the warmth of him better against her palms and fingertips. The goddess resisted the temptation to brush her lips against his temple, though still caught his scent every time she turned her head. He smelled of sweet grass, rain soaked earth, and an innumerable array of wildflowers.

Lucy cleared her throat and turned her attention to Happy's question before she lost herself entirely.

"The dead can see only the dead, and here, in this place between life and death, they see nothing at all," she explained as she cast her eyes out across the newest lot of souls the world above had sent to her. "As for what they are doing, they are waiting for their turn to enter the afterlife."

"Everyone who wants into the hereafter takes my boat across the Styx," a new voice added, making Happy's head snap around in the direction of its source.

The boat they had seen was now moored to the dock beside them. A man dressed in somber robes lowered the gangplank with a noisy clatter, then stepped aside as the souls of men, women, and children began to board. He was of average height, with a muscular build and pale skin one would expect from a man who spent all his days in the underworld. His eyes were nearly as dark as his mop of black hair, and he bore a faint scar over one brow.

"Except for me," Lucy mused as she smiled down at the man, who grimaced up at her in turn.

"Except for you," the man repeated as his dark eyes scanning over the stranger picture she and her new companions made. "New friends?" he drawled as he picked up his ferryman's pole and motioned for them to board.

"I hope so," Lucy answered after a moment's hesitation that made the ferryman arch a brow at her.

He watched as the goddess nudged Happy again with her heels, encouraging the horse to step onto the gangplank and board the boat, though he clearly had no wish to do so. The sleeping man in Lucy's arms sighed and mumbled something as the boat rocked, then steadied.

"So long as you didn't kidnap him, I guess," he said eventually, and shrugged.

There was a pregnant pause as the ferryman pushed them away from the dock, during which he waited for a quick negatory from his mistress. When none was forthcoming, he looked back at her sharply, and was surprised to see her looking paler than usual as her grip on their 'visitor' tightened.

"You didn't," he said, voice flat with disbelief.

"I-" she began, her wings stretching and folding restlessly behind her indecisively.

"Oh gods above, you _did,_ " he exclaimed and threw his hands in the air, nearly dropping his pole. "Have you lost your goddamned mind, Lucy?" the man demanded. "Who is this poor bastard, even?!"

Lucy flinched, and admitted in a quiet tone, "I rather think I have, Gray." She sighed, and seemed to calm then, the ferryman's ire no longer disconcerting the goddess as she stared out into the mists that surrounded them. After a moment, she turned her gaze back to him, then smiled faintly and said, "Who he is doesn't matter. All that matters is that he is our guest, and you will treat him as such."

Gray stared up at her even as he continued poling his boat across the river with a deft control that bespoke a millennia of practice. If he hoped to pull some further answer out of the goddess with the weight of his gaze, he failed, and finally gave up. Instead, he turned his attention to Happy.

"Well how about you then? Am I allowed to know who _you_ are?" he asked acidly, making the horse's ears twitch.

Lucy glanced down at her mount when she felt his hesitation and said, "You may tell him, if you wish. Gray will do you no harm."

Happy seemed to weigh her words for a moment, then shook his head and snorted before eventually saying, "Happy."

"Happy what?" Gray asked with a blink of confusion.

"Just Happy," the horse said, tail twitching absently behind him. "That's my name, you see," he clarified, as though the ferryman were a particularly dull colt.

Gray mulled this over for a minute before speaking again. "Happy, huh? Just what sort of name is that supposed to be, anyways?"

"A perfectly good one!" the horse objected.

They continued on in this manner as their journey over the river continued. Lucy's own attention wandered back to the shore they had just departed. When the mist shifted just right, she could see a few scattered souls wandering aimlessly along the water's edge.

"Did we forget some?" Happy asked when he saw what had caught her attention. "Should we go back?"

"No," the goddess replied after a moment of silence, expression sorrowful as she continued to watch the shore.

"Those are the souls of people who couldn't afford the toll," Gray explained, tone grim.

Happy lifted his head. "Toll? What toll?"

A heavy sigh escaped the goddess on his back and she said, "It costs one obol to cross the river Styx, if you're a mortal. If you are not buried with a coin, or if someone doesn't dedicate one to you after the fact, then you are left to wander the far shore, never to cross over to the afterlife."

Happy turned his head and eyed Gray. "Why not just take them anyways? What do you need all that money for?" the horse asked, voice accusatory.

"It's the river's price, not mine," Gray replied, and nodded at the ink black current that he guided them over.

Curious, Happy turned his attention to the water and lowered his head for a better look. In the river's depths, he caught a glimpse of gold glinting in the dim light that surrounded them. "Seems like an awful waste to me," he grumbled, ears flicked back irritably. "Can't you change it? Just let everyone across?" Happy asked Lucy pointedly.

The goddess shook her head. "The Underworld may be my realm, but the five rivers that run through it are a kingdom unto themselves with rules of their own that all who cross them must abide by."

Happy huffed, clearly displeased by this answer, but thoughtful as well.

"You didn't pay the toll just now," he pointed out.

A small smile played across Lucy's pale features and she said "My passage across the rivers is without charge as a courtesy between realms. The same applies to my personal guests."

Happy made a noncommittal sound at this information, but before he could come up with another question to ask, the far shore finally came into view through the mist.

Gray carefully poled the boat around so they came abreast of the dock, which was identical to the one they had left only minutes before. Around them, the silent souls of the dead surged into motion and poured down the gangplank when the ferryman dropped it once more. Curiously, they disappeared the moment they left the dock, fading from sight as though they had never been there at all.

"Come now, we're almost there, Happy. When we return to my castle, you are free to go where you please. Gray will ferry you back to the other side at your leisure."

"I think I'll stay awhile, if you don't mind," the horse replied after disembarking.

"What?" Gray asked, surprised as the last of his passengers stepped off of his boat.

"I have no objection," Lucy replied, seeming surprised herself. "May I ask why, though?"

The horse turned his head so he could catch a glance of Natsu, who was still sprawled across his back in the goddess' arms.

"I just wanted to apologize to him is all."

Gray and Lucy stared at him for a moment, then the ferryman threw his head back and laughed long and loud. He pushed his craft back out onto the open river and called back to Lucy, "Good luck, Goddess. You're gonna need it."  
Lucy watched him go, an unreadable expression on her pale face. She said nothing, so after a moment, Happy turned and headed towards the goddess' distant castle.

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 **AN:** Remember to leave a review if you enjoyed so I know that people are still interested and would like more of this fic! Otherwise I'll just focus on my Undertale stuff, hah XD I was kinda thinking that working on this might wake up the old FT muse so I can get around to finish One Wish while I'm at it...


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